Children's home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited in Wokingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 1 SC417250 Registered provider: Calcot Services For Children Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered for up to four young people and is owned and managed by a private organisation. The home caters for young people who may have a range of emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 29 to 30 November 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff provide consistency and structure, enabling the young people to feel secure and safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 2  Young people are making good progress in all aspects of their lives.  Staff’s good understanding of risk and preventative strategies safeguards the young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Risk assessments are not always updated after incidents.  Records relating to safeguarding concerns do not demonstrate rigorous investigation or record the manager’s decision-making.  The development plan lacks ambition, and this does not aid the manager to continuously drive improvements.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that risk assessments are updated after incidents.

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Recommendations

 Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 72, paragraph 9.7) In particular, ensure a rigorous approach to investigating and recording outcomes of safeguarding concerns.

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Recommendations

 The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4) In particular, ensure that the development plan is detailed, ambitious and drives continuous improvement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Well-planned transitions ensure that the young people have successful moves into the home. The staff gather as much information as possible to inform the young people’s placement plans, and the staff meet with the young person and their family to prepare them and set out expectations. As a result, the young people settle quickly into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been changes to the group dynamics within the home. Three young people have left since the previous inspection. All three placement endings were unplanned due to significant concerns around the safety and well-being of the young people. Staff advocated strongly on the young people’s behalf and they worked closely with the placing authorities to ensure that the welfare of each young person was a priority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through the provision of stability, consistency and structure, young people have been able to mature and develop. Consequently, two young people have settled and lived in the home for over a year. Both of the young people are engaged in education and are being supported to achieve their potential. One young person is not attending school. The organisation has ensured that this young person has access to structured education sessions, while staff work with all the relevant services to obtain the necessary school placement. Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 4 Independence skills are well promoted. Staff encourage and support young people to develop their skills in preparation for adult life. The young people undertake accredited programmes to evidence their competency in completing daily living tasks independently, such as cooking and doing their laundry. The young people have realistic targets and are rewarded for their efforts. This ensures that the young people are being

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Opportunities to try new things and take part in activities support the young people to develop their self-confidence and extend their social network. The staff encourage young people to follow their hobbies and interests. A young person has recently visited China and Poland, therefore widening their experiences and view of the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consistent support and nurturing have enabled the young people to develop strong, trusting relationships with the staff. As a result, the young people are beginning to confide in staff and share how they are feeling. Consequently, the young people have not resorted to previous risk-taking behaviours, and this has reduced their own perceived need to self-harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff enable the young people to explore and develop a positive identity and, as a result, improve their emotional well-being. Staff support and encourage the young people to engage in local services and support groups in their communities. As a result, the young people are developing an improved sense of self and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are welcomed into the home to see their children. Sound arrangements for contact allow young people to renew, build and maintain relationships with their significant family members.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff’s good understanding and their consistent guidance and advice help the young people to identify risks and to learn how to keep themselves safe. As a result, the young people are taking more responsibility for themselves and developing their independence.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

In general, risk assessments offer sufficient advice to staff on how to manage and eliminate risks for the young people. Staff are well informed about the risks associated with the young people. However, one young person’s risk assessment was not updated after a missing from home incident. This document also lacked information on the risk of bullying for the young person. Staff were not provided with current information on this occasion.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people said that they feel safe and trust the staff. They feel able to talk about and reflect on their feelings. As a result, the young people are learning to regulate and manage their emotions. Therefore, they no longer resort to previous risk-taking behaviours, and this has resulted in a reduction of missing from home incidents and aggressive outbursts. Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 5 Staff work effectively as a team and are clear with young people about what is expected of them. Boundaries are employed consistently, and staff use de-escalation techniques effectively to support the young people to calm down when their emotions become heightened. Physical intervention is used as a last resort by staff. All incidents are documented and reviewed by management to maintain and improve good practice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Effective missing person protocols ensure that when a missing from home incident occurs, the staff respond well, deploying a managed and coordinated approach. The staff support the young people to reflect on the reasons why they go missing from the home and use this information effectively to prevent missing from home incidents from reoccurring.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding concerns are reported appropriately to the local authority designated officer. However, the recordings of safeguarding concerns do not evidence that substantial investigation and exploration of the concerns have taken place. Records also lack evidence of the manager’s own decision-making or conclusion. Such shortfalls inhibit effective monitoring and oversight of safeguarding practice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

A rigorous recruitment process ensures that only people who have undergone all the required checks are employed to work with the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have taken swift action to appoint a new manager, who has made an application to register with Ofsted. Following the previous registered manager’s departure, the operations manager stepped into this post. She was previously a frequent visitor to the home, and engaged with the young people and staff daily. As a result, the change in manager has not been overly disruptive to the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective working relationships with external colleagues have positively contributed to young people’s well-being. When necessary, senior leaders have strongly challenged other agencies to ensure that the young people receive the specialist support they require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders are committed to learning from complaints and any other occasions that the young people or others are seen to be dissatisfied with the service. Staff have managed complaints effectively, and have provided outcomes to the complainant, while using the learning from these to develop practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are continuous efforts by senior leaders to ensure that the young people receive good-quality care. Extensive monitoring occurs in the form of the independent visitor’s monthly reports and monthly and three-monthly monitoring. This ensures that senior leaders have a good oversight of the service and that the strengths and areas for improvement are identified and addressed. However, the home’s development plan lacks ambition and focuses on what should be provided as a minimum. There is no strategic Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 6 direction on how to improve the service above and beyond what is expected by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An informative workforce development plan ensures that staff understand what is expected from them in regard to their training, supervision and performance. Staff receive training relevant to their role and the needs of young people, to ensure that they provide good-quality, effective care for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have many opportunities to reflect on and develop their practice. Team meetings take place monthly. Records of minutes demonstrate good analysis and evaluation of the staff’s strategies and young people’s progress. Staff utilise critical reflection meetings to reflect on their interventions and relationships with young people and how they can develop their practice for the benefit of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly, in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Staff said that they feel well supported by senior leaders and the manager, stating that their supervision provides an opportunity to review their development and share ideas to improve the quality of care for the young people.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Calcot Services For Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Haines Watts, 87 Castle Street, Reading RG1 7SN

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Inspector:

Melissa McMillan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC417250 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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